Petrol was Rs 314 when JI sit-in began, now Rs 346: Karachi mayor

KARACHI: Karachi Mayor Murtaza Wahab has said petrol cost Rs 314 a litre when Jamaat-e-Islami started its sit-in and has now risen to Rs 346.

Talking to the media, he said if Naeem-ur-Rehman continued at the same pace it was unclear where prices would go. “You have money for service; others also had money for public service. Some did not think of the people, they thought of themselves,” he said.

Wahab urged JI to leave the politics of intimidation and focus on development. “If you had been working, we would not have had to come and work in your areas. I promise every single paisa will be spent on this city.”

Meanwhile, Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan Ameer Hafiz Naeem-ur-Rehman’s call for a nationwide shutter-down strike against the petroleum levy, IPP contracts and overall inflation was observed, the party claimed, from Peshawar to Karachi, with major and small business centres and markets remaining closed and traders expressing full solidarity with JI.

According to the party, on the 19th day of JI sit-ins in Lahore, Peshawar, Karachi and other cities, protests, motorcycle rallies and press conferences were held during the nationwide strike. JI leaders visited markets with traders and thanked trade bodies and the public for observing the strike.

JI said major markets in Lahore remained closed on the Ameer’s appeal. Police allegedly harassed and arrested JI workers at some places. JI, JI Youth leaders and workers were also arrested in Karachi and Larkana, the party said. A JI spokesman condemned the arrests and demanded their immediate release.

In Islamabad, business centres in Supermarket, Abpara, G-8 and G-9 remained closed. Islamabad Ameer Nasrullah Randhawa, Rawalpindi Ameer Syed Arif Shirazi and Traders Association president Kashif Chaudhry visited markets and thanked the public. Major markets also remained shut in Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Hafizabad, Mandi Bahauddin, Jhang, Sargodha, Toba Tek Singh, Okara, Sahiwal, Pakpattan, Vehari, Bahawalnagar, Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Sadiqabad.

In Peshawar, JI Central Ameer Abdul Wase thanked traders, along with Anjuman-e-Tajiran founding president Muhammad Afzal, for closing shops in Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khwani Bazaar, Ashraf Road and other places, and led a protest rally against the petroleum levy and inflation. Markets also remained closed in Charsadda, Bara Bazaar in Khyber district and Swabi, with protests against the levy.

A complete strike was observed in Abbottabad, Mansehra, Haripur and Battagram in Hazara Division. Hazara Ameer Abdul Razzaq Abbasi thanked the public and traders for a successful and peaceful strike.

In Quetta, major and central markets including Airport Road remained closed. Successful strikes were also reported from Gwadar, Jaffarabad, Usta Muhammad, Zhob and other parts of Balochistan. In Sindh, business centres remained shut in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Thul, Mirpurkhas, Jacobabad, Ghotki, Shikarpur, Thatta, Tharparkar, Sakrand, Nawabshah, Badin, Hala, Shahdadkot and other areas. JI Youth organised motorcycle rallies in various cities.